ISU College of Agriculture Awards Presented Oct. 21

Two men who have made important contributions to the agriculture industry were honored Oct. 21 as part of an Iowa State University Alumni Association awards ceremony. Both awards are given annually by the Iowa State College of Agriculture. The recipient of the 2005 Floyd Andre Award was Lee Kline. The award honors an Iowa State alum who has made an outstanding contribution to production agriculture, agricultural business or is in a position to have a significant influence on Iowa agriculture. Kline was a farm broadcaster for radio station WHO for 41 years, retiring in 1995. While attending Iowa State, Kline wrote for the Iowa State Daily, participated in "Stars Over Veishea" and sang in a YMCA quartet called the "Melody Men." Following his graduation with a degree in agricultural journalism, Kline worked at the Union Stockyards in Chicago as a public relations associate until entering the Army in 1951. After his discharge in 1953, he returned to the Chicago job. He joined radio and television stations WHO in 1954. Kline received the ISU Friend of Extension award in 1983, the National Association of Farm Broadcaster's Oscar in Agriculture award in 1985, the Gamma Sigma Delta Alumni Award of Merit in 1994 and the ISU Meritorious Service Award in 1996. The 2005 Henry A. Wallace Award was presented to Ray Townsend. The Wallace Award honors an Iowa State alum who has made an outstanding contribution to national or international agricultural writing, teaching, research or leadership. Townsend is chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Townsend Engineering Company, the world's largest designer and manufacturer of skinning, stuffing and injecting machines for the meat, fish and poultry industries. Townsend Engineering conducts business in more than 100 countries and has offices in the Netherlands, Russia, Poland and Italy. Townsend holds more than 100 U.S. patents. His three primary inventions, the skinning machine, high-speed sausage linker and multi-needle injector are widely used in the meat processing industry in the United States and around the world. The result is lower cost, more efficiently produced and higher quality meat. Townsend attended Iowa State from 1931 to 1933, majoring in mechanical engineering. He is a charter member of the Iowa Inventor's Hall of Fame. He received the ISU Professional Achievement Award in Engineering in 1982. He has provided ongoing financial support to the Iowa State University Department of Animal Science, its meat science programs and its students. The Ray T. Townsend Meat Research Laboratories were dedicated in 1999.